


Holidays and Hotsauce

by InconvenientImmortal



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, M/M, You'll never guess what I've craved since writing this, food fic, mentions of Layer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-05 22:30:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12803778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InconvenientImmortal/pseuds/InconvenientImmortal
Summary: Zero was an A-Class Hunter. A veteran of a ridiculous amount of wars. He’d died twice, was painstakingly reassembled both times, and put through more trauma and suffering than most Hunters combined.But this?This was a new kind of hell.-X, Zero, and Axl try a new restaurant together. It doesn’t go well. (aka: The"Dates and Desserts"sequel no one asked for)





	Holidays and Hotsauce

**Author's Note:**

> As stated in the summary, this is a sequel to **["Dates and Desserts"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7379599)**. Written for a friend.
> 
> You came up with a name for a possible sequel to “Dates and Desserts” as a joke, but I have a long memory for jokes. Happy birthday buddy, you’re the best. ( ˘ ³˘)♥

Trying the place was Axl’s idea. Sort of.

The idea, at least, was proposed by Axl (among many others).

“Absolutely not.”

… and ultimately shot down by X.

“Jeez X, at least _think_ about it!” Axl grumpily protested. ~~~~

They’d just regrouped after their night patrol and were headed back to the Hunter Base. Patrol duty consisted of them walking around different parts of Abel City for a few hours while staying on the lookout for suspicious Maverick activity. After so many wars, Zero could understand Signas’ logic; placing Hunters at strategic points around the city so they could take immediate action if something happened was practical, but hardly anything ever _did_ happen on their patrols (at least, not the ones Zero went on). Still, they typically weren’t too boring since X and/or Axl were usually assigned co-patrol duty with him, and it was easy to chat over the built-in communicators in their head. But considering the fact he’d spent the last half hour listening to Axl’s increasingly desperate pitches to X, he was more than ready to turn in for the night.

“All I’m saying is it’s been months, _months_ since we first met, and I STILL haven’t hung out with you guys and done something that wasn’t work-related!” Axl said, throwing his arms up in exasperation. “Do you not like me? Or are all Maverick Hunters’ social lives really this pathetic?”

“Axl,” X said with tired sigh, “You know we have to stay on-guard and be prepared. We never know when the next Maverick attack might happen. We don’t have the luxury to go skiing or surfing or…What was the last thing you said?”

“Skydiving,” Axl grumbled.

Zero and X exchanged a weary look. It was easy to forget how young and inexperienced (relative to them anyways) their new friend was, despite his unwavering enthusiasm for hunting Mavericks. But it’d been a few weeks since they were last forced to face any rogue Reploids (much to X’s silent relief), and tedious patrol duty obviously wasn’t cutting it for Axl.

“I’m not saying we play hooky or anything,” Axl clarified, still a little sulky. “Besides; it’s not like we can’t have fun _and_ take out Mavericks. All HQ needs to do is contact us if something happens, we show up at the scene, and—” Axl closed one eye and aimed his gun at a garbage can, mimicking taking a shot— “ _BANG_! Maverick eliminated. We’re good enough that we can do both!”

“Being ‘good’ isn’t enough sometimes,” X said quietly, but Axl didn’t appear to hear him.

“Listen, Axl,” Zero said, trying to mimic X’s kind tone as he placed a hand on the younger Hunter’s gun-arm and lowered it. “It’s not that we don’t like you; we do. It’s just been busy lately, things are always like this after one of Sigma’s reappearances. You understand that, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Axl said morosely. He kicked at a discarded soda can and watched it spin off ahead of him. “It’s just…well, I know it’s not the same thing, but I used to do this kind of stuff with Red Alert all the time. I mean, we weren’t exactly the Maverick Hunters, but we did a lot of work too, and we still were able to get things done _and_ have fun. I guess I sort of miss that.”

Zero was going to ask if Axl had ever actually gone skydiving with the members of Red Alert, but figured now probably wasn’t an appropriate time for that question. X was frowning at Axl, but not in a disapproving way. It looked more like the concerned, empathetic expression Zero often found himself receiving whenever he declined to voice something he knew would worry X (like the fact he was still plagued by nightmares about the Repliforce incident, even after all these years).

“I was kidding about the skydiving stuff,” Axl said finally, shrugging as though to disregard his confession. “Well, sort of. I just thought it’d be fun to do something simple, like get food together, you know? We’ve all been working so much, don’t we deserve a break?” He glanced from Zero to X casually, but there was a hint of a plea in his tone.

X looked thoughtful, clearly thinking it over and still giving Axl that concerned frown. As he opened his mouth to reply however, Axl cut in.

“I know we’re allowed to do that, because I heard you and Zero go out on dates to eat _all_ the time.”

Thoroughly caught off-guard by the comment, X spluttered, “I—we—where did you hear that?!”

Axl smirked, folding his arms behind his head, all traces of his previous moment’s vulnerability gone. “Some of the Navigators were talking about you two last week. I asked them about it, since I didn’t know that was your guys’ sort of thing.”

“We haven’t gone out to eat in a while actually,” Zero said, since X looked too flustered to offer a response. “It’s just something we used to do when we had days off or—”

“When there wasn’t a war going on?”

“Yeah.”

Axl nodded slowly. “Well, it’s not like we’re in the middle of a war right now. Plus, the winter holidays are coming up! Pallette says we can get a day off if we request it ahead of time.” He turned his attention back to X, pressing his hands together in mock-prayer. “Come on X, have pity on me! I’ve only ever eaten fast food, and according to Alia that’s not ‘real food’, whatever that means. Just a couple hours, that’s all I ask!”

X hesitated, considering Axl and glancing up at Zero. “Well…it _has_ been a while. Taking a break and getting something nice to eat does sound tempting. I definitely have a few dishes I miss.”

“Like pancakes?” Zero murmured quietly, so only X could hear it, offering him a half-smile.

X blushed a little and smiled back sheepishly. “What can I say? I like sweets.”

“So you’re saying we can go? Awesome!” Axl punched the air in victory. “Goodbye pizza and fries, hello…whatever other food there is!” He hooked one arm with X’s and the other with Zero’s. “Don’t worry, I promise not to be a third wheel!”

X attempted to swat him. Axl ducked and ran off ahead, laughing.

 

* * *

 

The place Axl finally decided on, once their appointed day-off rolled around, was a new shop that popped up not too far from the Hunter base.

“Brave place to have a restaurant,” Zero said humorlessly once they reached the spot. Generally speaking, most buildings within a five block radius of the Maverick Hunters headquarters had lifespans of two years or less. Abel City had lived through countless wars, and despite the Hunter’s best efforts, it always suffered varying degrees of collateral damage. Their base was occasionally at the epicenter of attacks, which made the surrounding properties susceptible to more damage than usual. Even buildings that weren’t half-demolished in Maverick assaults often found their insurance rates spiking higher than their tenants could keep up with, so the area was always changing.

“Yumi Yumi Noodle?” X looked at the neon sign curiously, and the large menu taped against the glass window. Their logo was painted next to it; the shop’s name spelled out in long curvy noodles, surrounded by various meat and vegetable toppings with cutesy cartoon eyes, all floating in a bowl full of broth.

“I’ve walked past it a few times while patrolling. It always smells soooo good!” Axl beamed at them. “Layer recommended it too.”

“Oh! I didn’t know she liked eating,” X said, taking his eyes off the menu and turning back around. “Maybe we should’ve invited her to come with us.”

“I did! She said she was too busy.” Axl threw Zero a look, smirking. “Though, I don’t think she would’ve said that if a certain someone invited her instead~”

He stared at Axl blankly. “Should…X ask her to come with us next time?”

Axl rolled his eyes and X shook his head, laughing. “Zero, you’re hopeless. Anyways, let’s go inside.”

They pushed open the door, and were immediately greeted with the wafting aroma of broth and broiled veggies. The shop was pretty crowded, even though it was only around 4 o’clock. People were packed together cozily at booths and tables, chatting cheerfully and laughing loudly.

“Do you think they’ll have space for us?” X glanced around, sounding a little worried.

“Don’t worry, we have a reservation! Have a _little_ faith in me, X!” Axl pouted, giving his name to the hostess at the front desk. But while X was distracted looking at some of the potted plants decorating the entryway, Axl whispered to Zero, “Layer recommended I call them beforehand. I didn’t know that was a thing you had to do! But I would’ve figured something out, even if she hadn’t told me. Maybe.” Zero chuckled.

The hostess waved for them to follow her, and she set them up with some menus at a four-person table at the corner of the shop. The restaurant was lit with small hanging orange lights, the dark tiled floor blurrily reflecting the glowing orbs. That, coupled with the warmth of the place and the smell of good food, made for an overall comfortable setting.

Zero appraised their surroundings as he took the seat next to X, cutting off Axl, who was about to do the same thing. Axl sighed in mock exasperation and moved to sit across from them instead.

“There’s a lot of Reploids here,” Zero noted with surprise, spotting some civilian Reploids hanging out at a booth and even a few Maverick Hunters he recognized (by armor alone) seated at tables at the other end of the restaurant.

“We didn’t used to get too many Reploid customers, but lately, more and more new-gen models are getting built with that eating upgrade, so we’ve seen a big influx!” the hostess said, flashing him a wide smile. “It’s great for business. Anyways, let us know when you three are ready.”

Axl flipped open the menu, eyes shining as he read through it and saw the food photos accompanying some of the names. “These all look so good! Look—this one comes with seared pork in soy sauce! Ohh and this one has shrimp and mushrooms! And this one has bamboo and onions! And this has—”

Zero glanced at X as Axl gushed over all the menu items. “Got any recommendations?”

“I can’t say I’ve tried many noodle places before,” X said, scanning over his menu, resting one finger thoughtfully against his mouth. “I think I’m probably going to try the vegetable noodle bowl with chicken broth and fried tofu. That one sounds pretty good.”

“Hey Zero, what’s this?”

He looked at what Axl was pointing at. A red piece of paper was poking out of the top of his menu. Zero flipped the page over and pulled the slip out, putting it on the table so the other two could see. The paper was bordered with red fire, large bold letters stating ‘ _TRY OUR SPICY SOUP CHALLENGE! If you’re able to eat an entire bowl of our chef’s specially prepared spicy noodle soup, you’ll get your entire meal FOR FREE!_ ’

“Free? Neat!” Axl grinned at them. “You guys up for a challenge?”

“Pass, thanks,” X said, sipping his water. “I’m not a big fan of spicy food.”

“Aw, you’re no fun. What about you, Zero?”

Zero gave him a one-shouldered shrug. “I guess I can help. Spicy food doesn’t bother me too much.”

Axl’s grin widened. “Great! There’s no way we won’t be able to finish it. Let’s order tons of food since we’re sure to get it all for free!”

“Axl…” X began in a disapproving tone that clearly said ‘ _I’m not sure if that’s a good idea_ ’, but he was interrupted by the waitress.

“Hello! Can I get anything started for you three?”

“Yeah! Can we get three orders of spring rolls and pot stickers, some fried rice, some barbequed pork sticks, some lemongrass stir-fry, and two of the ‘spicy soup challenge’ bowls?” Axl said, reading off the menu and pointing at different pictures. “Oh yeah, and X wants the veggie noodle bowl with tofu.”

The waitress let out a low whistle. “You boys sure you want to order all that? There aren’t many people, or Reploids for that matter, who are able to finish our spicy challenge dish.”

“We’re sure!” Axl gave her a thumbs-up.

“Alright,” the waitress said, sounding half impressed, half skeptical. “You’re probably going to want some drinks if you’re doing the challenge though. We have green tea, soda, coffee, calpico, lemonade—”

X caught Zero’s eye when the waitress said ‘lemonade’ and flashed him an amused smile, then looked away.

Zero shook his head. “Thanks, but I think I’ve had enough lemons to last me a lifetime. I’ll stick with water.”

“I want some soda!”

“I’ll try the lemonade,” X said. Zero mouthed ‘traitor’ and X tried not to grin, failing miserably.

She finished writing the orders and swept away their menus with a promise that she’d have their food out shortly.

X crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at his tablemates. “You know you two are paying for this dinner if you fail, right?”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take! Besides—” Axl waved a hand dismissively, as if to brush away X’s concerns— “all we have to do is eat some soup. How hard could _that_ be?”

 

* * *

 

The main dishes arrived a few minutes after the multitude of appetizers (over half of which were devoured solely by Axl, who proclaimed every bite as the most delicious thing he’d ever eaten).

“Here’s your order!” The waitress set X’s bowl before him, noodles piled high with green onions, broccoli, and fried tofu, various other veggies peeking out of the cloudy brown broth. “And here’s the challenge bowl for you two,” she added, sliding a very large bowl in front of Axl and Zero.

The first thing that hit Zero about his order was the smell. Even before the waitress took it off her tray, the overpowering scent of sriracha, chili, and cayenne pepper (along with an abundance of other spices Zero couldn’t name) hit him. He peered down into his bowl with some trepidation, but it looked innocently similar to X’s. It was just a lot…redder. The broth was a deep blood-orange color, the noodles dyed a few shades darker than X’s, presumably from soaking in the broth. Sliced chili peppers, cilantro, and green onions floated lazily at the top, a few other suspicious ingredients lurking out of view in the murky depths of his broth. Two nasturtiums and a slice of lemon decorated the side on the plate underneath his bowl (Zero subtly nudged the lemon off it).

Axl also checked out his food, but with an expression that looked more excited than nervous. He glanced up at Zero, smirking cheekily. “Bet I can finish this faster than you can!”

Zero was still a little wary, but it wasn’t like this was his first time eating spicy food. He'd already tried it years and years ago with X, who wasn’t capable of handling spicy food as well as Zero happened to. (He fondly remembered X hanging onto his shoulder, choking down some sweets and milk from a neighboring bakery to try and get rid of the lingering spiciness while Zero attempted to hide his laughter. X vehemently refused to ever eat spicy food with him again). He returned Axl’s smirk, readying his utensil. “You’re on!”

The first bite was pretty much what Zero expected. The spiciness seared his tongue pretty badly, but it didn’t overpower the flavor of the other ingredients. All in all, it was pretty good, better than he’d expected, even. “You want to try a bit, X?”

X gave him a withering look, making Zero laugh and nearly choke on the bite he’d only half-swallowed. “I think you should focus on your competition; Axl’s already proven his stomach is a bottomless pit.” Across from them, Axl was already on his fourth bite, taking advantage of Zero’s brief pause.

“Hey!”

“X, you’re supposed to be the neutral party, don’t warn him!” Axl complained between bites. “Whose side are you on?”

“Whoever actually manages to finish the challenge,” X said wryly. “Though, I’ve seen how capable Zero is of handling spicy food, so I might be a little prejudiced.”

Axl huffed, mumbling, “I doubt that’s the only reason why you’re prejudiced.”

Zero winked. “I appreciate the support, X.”

X went pink and hastily dropped his gaze back to his soup.

“So,” Zero turned back to Axl. “It’s between my tolerance and your appetite. May the best Reploid win.”

Axl grinned competitively. “I’ll defeat you _and_ prove myself to X!” He slurped up some noodles, making one whip up and splatter X across the nose with red broth. “Whoopth, thorry,” Axl said through the mouthful of food. He offered X his napkin sheepishly, and X accepted it with a resigned sigh.

“If I wasn’t prejudiced before, I definitely am now. Do your best, Zero!”

“Noooooo!” Axl cried dramatically, his mouth still packed as full as a hamster’s.

Zero and X both laughed, and Zero took the opportunity to catch up to Axl, chowing down on his food.

It was around the sixth bite that Zero realized something was horribly, horribly wrong.

The initial searing (but still bearable) feeling on his tongue was gradually replaced by an agonizing, steady burning. He couldn’t taste the other ingredients anymore; each bite was pure molten lava, each new spoonful of soup feeling like liquid fire.

Across the table from him, Axl’s face was slowly turning as red as Zero’s armor, and Zero had a sinking feeling his own face was quickly approaching the same color. It was so painful to eat, Zero could actually _feel_ his repair nanites kicking into action, trying to find his nonexistent injury and the source of the pain.

There was a hand on his shoulder suddenly. Zero turned slightly to find X looking up at him, eyebrows furrowed. “Are you alright?”

He cleared his throat. “It’s…a little hot,” Zero admitted, his voice a bit strained. ‘A little hot’ was probably the biggest understatement he’d ever made; Zero was seriously starting to worry the soup would burn a hole straight through his tongue (or worse, his stomach). He took a small sip of water, but that seemed to make the pain worse.

“Not…giving up…are you?” Axl forced a smile that was more grimace than grin, his voice equally strained.

Zero raised another spoonful to his mouth. “You wish.” It was stupid getting this competitive over food of all things, but Axl wasn’t giving up, so he didn’t want to either. He couldn’t lose face in front of X (though, from the way things were going, Zero felt like he was about to add a third mark to his death count).

“You know I was kidding about the ‘if you two lose, you have to pay for dinner by yourselves’ thing, don’t you?” X said, sounding a little guilty. “I was planning to help pay either way.”

Zero would’ve told X not to worry about it, but he honestly felt like if he opened his mouth, only smoke and fire would come out. He gave X a thumbs up and kept eating.

He was about two-thirds of the way through his bowl before Axl finally groaned, slumping forward onto the table. “I can’t- I can’t finish this.”

“Is it really that spicy?” X peered curiously into Axl’s bowl, which was a little more than two-thirds finished.

“It is, but it’s not just that,” Axl gurgled, his forehead-gem pressed against the table. “I’m so stuffed. I ate way too much earlier. That’s never happened to me before.”

X sighed, leaning forward and patting Axl on the head consolingly. “I’ll spare you the ‘I told you so’, mostly because I never actually managed to argue against ordering this much before you did it.”

“Thanks, X,” Axl said, his voice a little muffled since his face was still on the table. “Zero,” he raised his head slightly, giving Zero a grim expression. “It’s all up to you now…avenge...me…” Axl let his head fall back against the table with a dull thud, followed by a small, “Ow.”

Their table was getting a few curious stares from neighboring diners—including the Maverick Hunters Zero spotted earlier—thanks to Axl’s theatrics. (One of them caught Zero’s eye and gave him a thumbs up, shouting something that sounded like, “Good luck!”).

Zero raised his utensil, ready to finish the fight and honor his fallen comrade, but X stopped him. “Zero, this is ridiculous, you don’t actually have to finish that if you don’t want to.”

Zero shook his head, attempting a smile. “It’s a matter of pride at this point.” There was no way he was going to let a bowl of noodle soup defeat him; if he could face Sigma time and time again and come out in one piece (…usually), he could survive this. Still, Zero was sure if he’d been built with the ability to cry, tears would be streaming down his face by now.

He slowly worked his way through the remaining one-third of his dish, wondering if he’d ever be able to taste anything again after today. X anxiously kept an eye on him, his own bowl half-finished and forgotten. “Do you think it would be cheating if I helped you?”

Axl’s head shot back up. “No fair, why didn’t you offer to help me?”

“Because that would’ve defeated the purpose of a competition.”

“I’ve survived worse than this, don’t worry about it,” Zero said, mechanically taking bite after bite. “Besides, I know how you are with spicy food. Better me than you.”

“Basically, _‘this is a battle I must fight alone’_ ,” Axl supplied with a grin. “Cheesy as always, Zero.”

Zero was too focused on his food to tell Axl to shut up, but he made a mental note to volunteer Axl for extra patrol duty when Signas asked.

They _definitely_ had an audience now, a few people cheering him on while others, like their waitress, silently observed. Only about an inch or so of his broth and noodles remained, and Zero stoically pressed on, X and Axl watching with mixed horror and awe. Zero could feel his face radiating heat and wondered just how red he was, hoping the effects wouldn’t be permanent (and sincerely hoping no one was recording this disaster).

When the bottom of the bowl was finally visible through the remaining broth, Zero lifted it to his lips and drained the rest of it down in one final gulp, lighting his throat on fire, but saving himself from prolonging the hellish experience any further. He slammed his fist on the table and let out a shout of triumph as Axl whooped and X clapped him on the back, relief and pride etched all over his face (which honestly made the entire thing worth it for Zero).

“Waitress!” Axl waved her over, beaming. “We finished the challenge!”

Their waitress came over to the table as the rest of the diners returned to their own meals, a few flashing Zero smiles and thumbs-up. She checked Zero’s bowl to make sure everything was finished, one eyebrow raised. “Ah ah ah,” the waitress chided, doing her best to sound stern while fighting back a smile. “It doesn’t count unless you eat _all_ of it. The flowers and lemon decoration too.”

Zero felt his initial joy and relief drain out of him like water from a colander. He gave her a murderous glare, which he then transferred to the discarded lemon. It was practically salt in the wound at this point. X gave him a pitying smile, and Zero swiped up the nasturtiums and popped them in his mouth. (If his taste buds hadn’t been burned-off, the flowers would’ve tasted peppery). As he reached for the lemon and brought it up to his mouth however, the waitress burst into a fit of giggles.

“I was just teasing—you don’t really have to eat the lemon!” she said, still snickering. “I can’t believe you actually finished our spicy challenge dish, you’re the first one who’s been able to do it in weeks! Well, not counting that cute purple-haired Reploid girl who’s in here once in a while,” the waitress added, “but she’s an outlier; she downs the challenge dish like it’s water. It’s unreal.”

The three Hunters exchanged stunned looks.

“Do you think Layer…?” X began, a little horrified.

“She _did_ tell me she liked spicy food, but I didn’t think _this_ was what she meant!” Axl whispered, sounding impressed.

Zero was still too traumatized about his burnt mouth (and that he’d almost had to eat a lemon) to properly take in this shocking new information about his Navigator.

“Well, you boys won yourselves a free meal fair and square. And as an added bonus, here’s something special from the kitchen!” She put a plate in the middle of the table, on top of which rested three golden sweet buns, all brushed with a light honey glaze. “This should help take care of the residual spiciness. Enjoy!” With that, she walked off.

 “Cool, more free food!” Axl immediately swiped a bun and started munching on it.

“I thought you said you were too full earlier, and that’s why you couldn’t finish your challenge bowl?” X frowned, taking a bun and offering it to Zero. He took it with a quiet thanks and bit into it, the fluffy fresh bread concealing the sweet red bean paste inside. That, and the honey glaze on top, helped to neutralize the spiciness, but Zero could still barely taste it. (He silently wondered if the medics at HQ could repair taste buds).

“Well…,” Axl said slowly, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. “I _was_ pretty full, but I figured hey, if Zero was going to finish the challenge dish and get us all free food anyways, there was no need for me to risk life and limb—or I guess, tongue—too!

“Axl,” Zero rasped, his mouth and throat still throbbing painfully, “As soon as I finish this bun, I’m going to kill you.”

Axl raised his hands as though to feign innocence. “Hey, I didn’t force you to eat it! You’re the one who said it was ‘a matter of pride’ and all!”

“He does have a point, Zero.” He shot X a betrayed grimace. X patted his shoulder sympathetically. “These buns are really amazing though, if that’s any consolation. Thanks for powering through to get us these treats.”

“Hmph.” He leaned over and took a big bite out of X’s bun.

“Hey! Go finish your own!” X pushed him, swiveling in his seat so he could better defend his dessert. He took a bite before Zero could launch another attack. Zero cracked a smile, feeling a little less bitter about the situation (especially since that bite of X’s bun actually managed to help dissipate the spiciness a little more. Maybe his taste buds weren’t a lost cause). “Ow, oh my gosh,” X said suddenly, fanning his mouth. “Zero how spicy _was_ that food? You got it all over my bun because you put your mouth on it!”

“Sorry.” He leaned against X, eyeing the sweet bread. “Does this mean I can have the rest of it?”

X took a sip of his lemonade, scowling. “Zero, you’re the worst.”

Axl snorted, then started cracking up. “Man, I can’t believe I used to see you guys as serious and cool intimidating Maverick Hunters’!”

“What, you don’t think willingly submitting myself to this sort of torture for free food is cool?” Zero said sarcastically, taking another bite of his bun.

“I’d say it’s dumb, but I’d be putting myself in the same category if I did that,” Axl said, popping the rest of his dessert in his mouth. “And it worked, so I guess it can’t be _that_ dumb.”

“Dumb idea or no,” X broke in as he left a tip for the waitress (Zero almost wanted to tell him to leave less because she almost made him eat a lemon), “What did you think of your first ‘real food’ experience?”

“Everything tasted fantastic! I thought it was great,” Axl said brightly. “Especially since my tongue doesn’t feel like a pile of charcoal anymore.”

“Happy to hear that, at least,” X chuckled.

Axl paused for a moment, hesitating. He briefly twisted the tablecloth between his fingers before letting it go. “If I’m being honest…what I liked more than the food was hanging out with you guys. It was really fun, thanks.”

“You’re the one who suggested we do this in the first place,” X reminded him, smiling warmly. “Thank _you_. It has been a little stressful lately; you were right in saying we deserved a break. Good judgment, Axl.”

“Wow, listen to that. You might be able to convince X to go skydiving with you sometime after all,” Zero teased. X didn’t dignify that with a response, but he did kick Zero (lightly) under the table.

Axl laughed a bit awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess we’ll have to see, huh? But, um,” he looked a little uncomfortable, staring down at the table. “I…thanks guys. I really do appreciate it. It’s still weird trying to adjust after Red—after everything that happened.” He wrung his hands together uncertainly, briefly glancing back up at them. “Getting used to the change is hard sometimes. So…thanks. This helps.”

X stood up and moved to Axl’s side of the table, sitting down and taking one of his hands. “I’m sorry Sigma put you through so much needless suffering, Axl. I know it’s not much of a consolation, but we _are_ really glad to have you here with us.”

Zero half expected their friend to deflect or make a joke like he usually did. Instead, Axl surprised Zero (and by the looks of it, X) by leaning forward and hugging him. It took X a second to get over his initial shock, but he immediately returned the hug, patting Axl on the back.

“You can always talk to us if you need to. We’re happy to listen,” X said quietly, brushing back Axl’s spiky hair. “I’ll do my best to help you however I can, all you need to do is ask.”

Axl’s shoulders hunched up for a second, and he squeezed X hard. After a moment, he peeked up at X. “Can I have your bun then?”

X released him with an exaggerated eye roll and a sigh. “I take back what I said earlier; you and Zero are both the worst.”

Zero smirked. “Better luck next time, rookie.”

“Fineeee,” Axl sighed in defeat, leaning back in his chair. “I guess I’ll just have to ask Layer to bring some of these buns back to the base next time she comes here. I can’t believe she can handle something that spicy, I thought I was gonna die eating it!”

“It was definitely painful enough to warrant that thought,” Zero grimaced, feeling his nanites at work repairing his scorched throat. “Anyways, it’s getting late, we should probably start heading back.”

They all stood up, X finishing the last bite of his bun as they exited the restaurant, the waitress calling, “Come back again soon!” after them.

“Well, at least now you two know not to order that next time,” X said, directing the comment mostly at Zero, who took a sudden interest in the lamppost across the street.

Axl perked up. “Does this mean we can eat out again sometime?”

“I’m up for it, so long as I don’t have to watch you two almost kill yourselves again just for free food.”

“Deal. I think my food challenge days are over,” Zero said, pulling a face. “I’m lucky my food _eating_ days aren’t over.”

“At least you didn’t have to eat that lemon,” X laughed, giving him a friendly nudge with his elbow.

He rolled his eyes and hooked an arm around X's shoulders. "I'm pretty sure that literally would've killed me."

"Killed your pride, more like," X teased. Zero put him in a temporary headlock (mostly because he didn't have a comeback).

“What’s the deal with you and lemons anyways?” Axl said with a frown. “I know they’re kinda gross, but you act like you _really_ hate them!”

Zero groaned, releasing X but keeping his arm around his shoulders. “It’s…a long story.”

“We’ve got time! Come on, tell me what happened!”

Zero looked at X, hoping he’d back him up, but X’s eyes were sparkling in a way that let Zero know he was about to get payback for that headlock. (It also let Zero know it was going to be a very, _very_ long walk back to the base).

“Well, it happened a few years ago when Zero and I went to this café…”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Now I'm craving noodles AND pancakes. I really need to stop writing food fics. (Save me from myself). That being said, I _did_ have an experience similar to Zero's about two months ago when my friends took me to a ramen shop for my birthday (I'm moderately ok with spicy stuff, but the spicy ramen there nearly killed me). 
> 
> This somehow managed to be about 60 words shy of the longest fanfic I've ever written, and the fastest (though that might just be because I put a lot of effort into writing it over a shorter period of time). I meant to post a different fic before this one, but since my friend's birthday was coming up, "Holidays and Hotsauce" took priority. I say this at the risk of jinxing myself, but the next fic (hopefully) shouldn't take too long to finish up! 
> 
> This was my first time writing Axl, so I was a little nervous (especially since a _lot_ of my Megaman X friends are huge Axl fans). My old motto was "I'd rather leave Axl out than mischaracterize him", but lately I've changed it to "You can't improve if you don't let yourself goof-up once in a while!", especially since he's been long overdue to show up in a fic. Thank you to Sky and a few other Axl fans on twitter for giving me your opinions on his personality, I feel like it helped me write him better!
> 
> (Super unrelated to anything, but I KNOW limes would pair better with their soup than lemons, but I really wanted to run with the lemon thing because limes just weren't as funny :'/)
> 
>  **11/20/18 Edit:** I just rediscovered the [video](https://shikai-the-storyteller.tumblr.com/post/180320817598/ayesiwmae-every-college-thesis-should-discuss) I was thinking about back when this fic was a mere glimmer in my mind (which I promptly forgot about when I actually started _writing_ the fic) so now I have to share it. Red shirt guy is Axl, white shirt guy is X, and black shirt guy is, of course, Zero.


End file.
